Permanent Numbness in toes

A snowHead

Folks, i have trawled some old threads on this but can't quite get all the answers i am looking for so apologies for this but i have got myself a bit worried.

I purchased my Fischer Boots from the Blues part of tiso's in December 2012. I spent about an hour and a half with the fitter and the shop was actually closed when i eventually got finished. My first issue was he measured my feet as a 7.5 which i was surprised at as i normally wear 8.5 or a 9 in normal shoes but he explained and showed me on the measure that was my size. I had only ever worn done in hire boots ion my one holiday in France so these felt very snug and tight. Was told again though that ski boots were not really designed to be comfortable so after all that i bought them. Convincing myself it would take a few days of skiing in them to make them just right I set off to Austria in Jan 2013 for a week and have been in Austria for a week in January 2014. Along with about 10 other days at scottish resorts i was now hoping i would love my ski boots but i don't and am now very worried.

Since returning from Austria i have totally numb toes on both feet. It affects 3,4 and 5 toes on my right foot and 4 and 5 on my left. My boots are excrutiating first thing and I have now realised the pain only goes away after about an hour due to my foot becoming numb. I have also now noticed that it is even worse when i wear a thicker style ski sock.

it is now 5 weeks since i returned and my toes are the same. I am due to go to Sauze d'oulx in two weeks time and i am worried about making them worse wearing my boots for another week.

what are my options????

can i still go back to Blues and can they do anything to my boots (blow them out) and would i get charged for this. I appreciate some may say i should have went back ages ago but i kept getting told all ski boots hurt and give them time you need to ski in them for about three to four weeks.

i am obviously concerned i have damaged nerves in my feet and this is not going to get better. It has to be the ski boots as i cannot think of anyhting else.

A snowHead

GP first
Boot fitter second

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I will follow thus thread as my toes have become numb since using quite snug boots over Christmas.
The skiing was better but seems odd 8 weeks later toes are still a bit numb.

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I occasionally get numb toes, usually fourth tow on left and right but worse on right foot. Do some research on Mortons Neuroma as that is likely the problem though not definitely. It can cause permanent nerve damage so you need to find a resolution. Simply there are several main routes for nerves through your feet and if the metatarsal's squash them they can be harmed. After a few weeks mine are pretty much back to normal although I have one pair of shoes which if stood around in seems to aggravate the problem. Interesting with this it is not pressure from the sides which always is the cause. Pressure from the sole of my foot brings it on. Thankfully it's not so serious as to stop me skiing.

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As hobbiteater says get to your GP first to figure out what is going on then boot fitter to get the pressure relived if that is what is causing the numbness. But on size nothing unusual in having ski boots smaller than your shoe size, I'm a 9 or 9 1/2 in regular shoes but my ski boots are an 8 so your boots are probably the right size for you.

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mikeelsa, my diagnosis is what i think you suspect anyway: your boots are too small.
Your numbness is lack of blood supply to nerves due to pressure (hence worse with thicker socks)
Boot fitters here I'm sure could advise better, but i'm not sure how a normal size 8.5/9 foot could ever be forced into a size 7 boot.

P.S. All ski boots do not hurt. Indeed no ski boots should hurt
I wear mine fully clipped up all day and essentially forget about them.
No discomfort.

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After all it is free

May be an issue with flexibility in your calves. If they aren't flexible, every time you flex your knees, you are basically pushing the balls of your feet into the sole of your boot. The pressure damages the nerves. I suffer with this if I don't stretch out my calves regularly in the run up to a ski trip

Jonpim, OP actually said 8.5/9 foot in 7.5 boot, just the same as I am with my 9/9.5 in an 8 boot!
pam w is right about socks, if your boots have been fitted properly thin race type technical socks are what you need, thick socks just take up space and add to the pressure on your foot.

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I pretty much agree with what everyone else is saying.

If your toes are permanently numb go and see your GP.
If you suspect your boots are to blame take them back to the bootfitter.

You can't really compare boots and the shoe sizes people normally wear as shoes are often larger than their feet measure too. I suspect it's a hangover from childhood days where shoes are almost always fitted a size up to allow space for growing.

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mikeelsa, Pretty sure Blues do a Fit Guarantee so they should adjust them if needed for no charge.

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mikeelsa,

you need to go back to the shop and get them to stretch the shells. Sounds like they are too narrow at the moment. I don't think they are necessarily the wrong shell size - a significant proportion of people will need to get shells stretched to fit after skiing in new boots for a while. I take size 9 in normal shoes and my ski boots are 26 i.e., 7! They are very snug, took quite a lot of stretching to get right and are still not that comfortable if I'm honest. On balance I'd say mine were too small but they were 2 whole shoes sizes smaller than my normal size...

would agree you see a doctor too

I had exactly the same with some Salomon CS 100 boots I bought a few years ago. they measured up but made my left toes (3,4,5) numb after a day - the feeling took six months to come back. I skied them for four days earlier this year and had even worse pain, despite having been back to the fitters, having been convinced they were right and having the inners and outer remoulded. I can take a bit of pain but the burning sensation in the sole of my foot was agonising as the blood came back.

i went back to the same retailer again and their highest expert said - your feet don't fit those boots, go somewhere else (he even told me the name of his previous employer, which is where he sent me) bui wouldn't make any good will gesture, so I got £70 back on ebay instead.

I then tried my salomons on the good side and new styles (eight brands) on the painful side and chose a pair of Head, which I've skied in six days. They are like my favourite slippers!!!

Mrs Skribble then finally emitted she hated her Dalbellos and three hundred euros later she has a nice pair of salmons which fit her really well and which have made a massive difference to her skiing.

see a doc if worried and change your boots!!!

You know it makes sense.

I had a similar problem with a pair of Salomons, after two lots of stretching by boot fitters they were still too small, made my toes numb and my big toenails fell off. I persevered with them for three seasons on the understanding that the liners would pack down and the problems would ease but nothing changed. In the end I sold them on eBay, saw a different boot fitter, bought bigger boots and everything has been perfect since then.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

davkt, your post came in while i was composing.
And i've learnt something here.
I didn't realise my ski boots were smaller than my shoe size.
Shoes 7/7.5 and boots 25.5 (= 6.5) - Nordica somethingorother, bought from Nevada in Tignes 2009.
They did require a couple of return visits to adjust the shell, but now completely comfortable all day long, unless I start skiing lazily (when boots quite rightly punish me)

A snowHead

mikeelsa,
Blues do a fit guarantee you should be able to take them along and get them blown out free of charge.

A snowHead

it is a case of finding where the problem is coming from
possible causes

shell too narrow
pressure from tongue on instep
lack of support..do you have a custom footbed t stop your foot spreading?
lack of flexibility at the ankle due to tight calf or bony blockage

get back to the fitter and have them check it out...is it a vacuum boot? if so have extra padding on the foot and have them re vac'd

it is unlikely to be a neuroma as this would cause an excruciating pain when triggered rather than a numbness in the toes, but it sounds like there is definitely a nerve compression somewhere

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Thanks for the replies guys. I am glad others have similiar stories. I think it is the boots and I am going to go back to blues and see what they say. I dont have any special footbeds in them. I really dont want to go through it all again in two weeks so will try and get to blues in next week. I will update how I get on. I love skiing and everything about it apart from putting these bloody boots on in the morning. I also never chose my boots I tried loads on but these came up trumps after all the questions from the fitter

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mikeelsa, sounds scary - CEM is the resident expert. The only thing I would add is that the bottom 2 clips on 4 clip boots can hurt if you do them up too tight... might be an issue?

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I do very long distance cycling events and quite often get numb hands and feet afterwards. Can take up to six months for the numbness/tingling to go away completely. I went to the doctor the first time I got it and she more or less said "serves you right". Nothing a doctor can do for it, once the damage is done you just need to wait for the blood supply to the nerves to grow back.

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Blues have asked me to come in and get them fixed. heading off there now so hopefully they can do something with them.

After all it is free

mikeelsa, let us know how you get on.

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okay guys just back form Blues and they have been really good with me spending time to get to the bottom of the problem.

firstly the guy spotted straight away that i have a problem on the big vein on top of the foot and pressure there causes all sorts of problems. I nearly went through the ceiling when he put pressure on it. this was solved by cutting a part out the tongue on both sides.

We then put in a footbed and i noticed a difference immediatley. walked round shop for thirty minutes with these modifications and they feel like new boots with no pain at all. I wish i had not listened to people who said your boots will never be comfortable and they will bed in eventually.

I wish i had gone back a year ago. The bottom line is my boots are the right size they just needed a little adjustment for my feet and arches. ski boots are not slippers but they should not be excruiating so if yours are get them fixed.

can't wait to get to Sauze in 10 days to have almost pain free ski boots. I am happy

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mikeelsa, great result! snowHead

If it isn't a really silly question, why didn't you go back to Blues in the first place?

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mikeelsa, hooray! Have a great holiday.

PAM W- everytime i moaned somebody would say it is normal and ski boots were not designed to be comfy or give them a chance it takes three years for them to bed in. All advice which is clearly complete rubbish. I wish i had went back two weeks after i had bought them. Never mind i feel like i have new boots now

You know it makes sense.

Great stuff! Enjoy.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

mikeelsa, are your toes recovering? Some massage might help.

A snowHead

I think they are getting slightly better. guy at Blues said he had suffered similiar in the past and it can take up to a year for them to get back to normal. Will ask other half to massage them but as she thinks feet are the most revolting thing of all time i won't hold out any hope.

A snowHead

mikeelsa, I regularly get numbness over the top of my left foot, even though I just hook that clip up loosely, so maybe have a similar issue to yours. I get it so often that it's stopped bothering me, but when I do, it takes about three months to come back to life.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

what surprises me (it shouldn't by now) is that there wasn't a footbed in there from the start, too many places still treat a good footbed as an add on sale, it is the foundation of the fitting, a fundamental part of doing the job properly, if they had put that in at the time of purchase then chances are all would have been well (or certainly a lot less bad than it was)

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The footbed is the best thirty quid I have spent and had I tried them at the outset I would have noticed the difference immediately. Numbness in toes is starting to lessen so not so worried now, obviuosly just takes time. Off to italy on sunday so hopefully feet are good when I return

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just back from the milky way and I am pleased to report my boots are like slippers. I walked the 15 minute steep uphill road to the clotes lift in Sauze every morning with boots top fasteners done to first setting and bottom ones open. did first run with boots all done up on first setting then gradually tightened as day went on. only once did I get pain when I did them up to tight too quickly. undid by one again and pain went away. I cannot believe ski boots can be this comfortable after two years I have had. the numbness in my toes is subsiding a little as well.

I think I bored everyone who would listen in hotel about my comfy boots, but what a difference.

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Permanent Numbness in toes

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